1
as in cerebral
much given to learning and thinking
as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mental
of or relating to the mind
intellectual pursuits such as reading and studying
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in educational
of or relating to schooling or learning especially at an advanced level
research that shows that people from very intellectual backgrounds are happiest with spouses having comparable educations
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in nerd
a person with strong intellectual interests
discovered that in politics a reputation for being an intellectual was regarded as a liability
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of intellectual
Blake D. Morant, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Our well-being is kaleidoscopic, including not just physical and emotional health, but also social, financial, intellectual and other dimensions.
—Amanda Schupak, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 16 Jan. 2026
Michael Casper profiles the last intellectual.
—Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Adjective
Washington and Lee has accordingly established a modern reputation for intellectual pluralism and pedagogical excellence.
—Blake D. Morant, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Our well-being is kaleidoscopic, including not just physical and emotional health, but also social, financial, intellectual and other dimensions.
—Amanda Schupak, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
Noun
The 20th century led to a stronger simplification and standardization of men’s fashion, yet simultaneously witnessed the emergence of charismatic figures such as artists, intellectuals and icons of music and cinema, who reinstated ornamentation as a powerful means of individual expression.
—Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 16 Jan. 2026
Michael Casper profiles the last intellectual.
—Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectual
Adjective
-
Frye believes that cerebral folate deficiency is present in many children with autism.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
22 Jan. 2026
-
In Aquarius, this manifests in a very real, social or cerebral way.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Does the client have a specific mental disorder?—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The feeling was unfamiliar, since my usual mental coordinates place me somewhere in the proximate future, a locus of anticipation and, all too often, unfocused worry.—
Michael Pollan,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Consider a viable and popular educational use for AI personas.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Promoting the preservation of centuries-old skills that have been passed down for generations—like Al-sadu (geometric embroidering) and Talli (hand-weaving)—the center offers educational workshops and training courses as well as daily artisan showcases.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Many of the most popular sports pundits cast off analytics as superfluous nerd drivel.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The instruction book also features a bunch of cool facts and history about the SLS — a wonderful touch for a NASA nerd like me.—
Ian Stokes,
Space.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
When boys are asked to show up consistently for real people, academic readiness and emotional readiness develop side by side.—
Dr. Liz Doe Stone,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Meyer studied international relations with a minor in history, and she was named to the PAC-12’s academic honor roll twice.—
Caelyn Pender,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Its eighth and latest buyout fund closed in 2021 and is logging a 12% internal rate of return (IRR), compared to about 15% for the S&P’s annual returns.—
Hank Tucker,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
One operation persisted fourteen hours, a sort of sci-fi marvel of science, internal engineering, and medical dedication, contra all the coeval dystopian breakdowns of that first COVID year.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The fact that Katherine had been institutionalized may have tainted her scholarly reputation.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Brown-Grier argued that this knowledge gap is not just a scholarly problem but a governance one.—
Marybeth Gasman,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Deadline asks the Festival chief whether Series Mania is focused on the highbrow of the drama spectrum.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
6 Mar. 2025
-
Wagner would be a sleepless highbrow’s favorite; the long, lush, unbroken lines of music share with the white-noise hum of the air-conditioner or the thrum of the painstaking lecture the quality of being absorbing without offering undue eventfulness.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectual. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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